An American Idol XIV Sneak Peek With Harry Connick, Jr.

In 2002, during his time on Will & Grace, Harry Connick Jr. joined Debra Messing for the finale of a new show called American Idol. Sitting in the audience that night, they were rewarded with a knockout performance of “A Moment Like This” by the show’s inaugural winner, Kelly Clarkson. But even as he appreciated a moment like that, Connick never dreamed that, more than a decade later, he would become one of the show’s three judges.

“That team of Simon and Randy and Paula was so successful that...